How does social networking affect your business?
Even if your business doesn’t actively use social marketing as part of its business development strategy, you still need to consider the impact it has when your customers share their experiences online.
How businesses interact with their customers has always affected business results and never more so that in the 21st Century.
In the 1900s good customer service – that everyone expects – was hardly mentioned in conversations.
Customers that received an outstanding service probably told some of their friends and colleagues – giving the business a little bit of good publicity – but only whilst it was fresh in their mind.
When people had a bad customer experience they told everyone they met; friends, colleagues – anyone who would listen – and often over a longer period of time. Bad news spreads, but the damage caused was limited to the social and business circles those customers moved in.
Now – in this modern age – the impact your customers can have on your business – both good and bad – has exploded exponentially because of the Internet.
In a survey commissioned by technology provider Avanade, 1,998 UK consumers were asked their thoughts on customer service, as well as how they complain to the company concerned.
41% of people still phone the company to complain and 63% also use email, but a significant proportion (20%) will go online to grumble to friends and family as well!
The figure rises to 36% for 18-24 year olds so it is a trend that looks set to continue.
(You can read more about the survey at Poor Customer Service)
People who get a great service from their supplier can share that experience with others -even people they’ve never met or spoken to – via social websites like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. The views they express can go viral in seconds and can give a real boost to your business reputation and – eventually – sales.
I reckon this is the type of tweet all businesses crave:
And the same is true if you disappoint your customers. The damage your business can endure when a bad experience is reported can ultimately destroy your business.
Take a look at United Airlines’ Angry Customer
Whilst many business owners realise that social marketing – using ‘people power’ to spread the word about their products or services – can be a brilliant marketing strategy, not everyone realises how damaging it can be as well. More so because, unlike a negative newspaper article that may eventually be forgotten, anything ‘published’ on the net is there, for anyone to find, virtually permanently.
How Do You Avoid Bad Publicity?
Well, the most obvious answer is to constantly supply fantastic service and buyer experience 
But we are all human and mistakes happen, so the next answer is to make it extremely easy for your customers to let you know if they are disgruntled with you. If you’ve created a great, open relationship with your customers there probably isn’t a barrier to communications and that gives you the opportunity to resolve any concerns they have.
So – the bottom line is, whether you like it or not, social media can have an affect on our business and it would be wise to keep that in mind.
~ Carol Bentley
3rd May 2011 at 6:44 am
Hi there Carol
You absolutely have a point on this.I am very much agree with you.I just can’t believe that the social media could also affect the business. Thanks for the information Miss Carol
. Your article is very informative.
29th April 2011 at 2:11 pm
Here we look at ways of understanding your customers of keeping them happy and of measuring their value to your business. Research suggests that the average person who has a bad experience with a business tells at least nine other people about it and that 13 of dissatisfied companies relate their experience to more than 20 other people.. In many ways developments in electronic commerce are setting the standards for the rest of the business world to follow.
27th April 2011 at 1:58 pm
It’s important for companies of all different types and sizes to have a social media presence these days. It’s a great way to engage with a target audience. It can also be used as a customer service tool. By monitoring social media for mentions a company can reach out to those that have shared a bad experience and hopefully mitigate the problem.
22nd April 2011 at 5:50 am
Strive to make sure your customers know that you appreciate their business. They give you their trust time and their hard-earned dollars — and without them your business would not exist… Strive to make sure your customers know that you appreciate their business.